Sunday, June 17, 2012

I read a lot of Young Adult fiction and also a lot of the supernatural/paranormal type romances. I have gotten so sick of vampires that I have been reading books mostly concerned with faeries (Iron Fey series, Fever Series). This was the first one I had read with the fallen angel theme, though. I don't know how similar it is to others (again, being my first one), but I thought it was a fantastic quick read. Even between work and schoolwork, I got it read in two days.

Things I loved (May contain *minor spoilers*!!):Alec and Claire begin to have a connection before they realize who the other one is. While their natures may be part of what draws them to each other, you also get to see an actual relationship develop without just being about protecting the other. Of course, they find out quickly and that is probably a huge reason why they keep seeing each other, but it's not the first and foremost. This was a nice change.The protagonist is actually able to rely on friends! This was a big deal to me after so many other paranormal type books make the heroine (yeah, it's usually a girl) completely on her own. While it's great to see a woman who is strong enough to handle everything she's given without the help of anyone except that one man, it was so nice to see additional characters developed a little more. We don't see Erica or Brian's side of the story, but they still play a major role in helping Claire figure everything out. She also is able to rely on her mother later on, which is, again, a nice change of pace. This, to me, is in someways more realistic. While it would be difficult to come out to your friends and say "Hey guys, I think I'm psychic...", it would also make dealing with it much more manageable.The third person was really well written! I usually hate it beyond all belief, but the authors managed to use it to show both main characters perspectives clearly and showed the emotions very well.All of the *good* characters were so likeable! Even the minor characters had distinct personalities and they drove the story because you want to know what happens.

Things that weren't quite as great:While the authors did a great job developing the characters, I still felt like it wasn't quite enough. I wanted to know them even more. This is a lot to ask of just one book, though. I've gotten into the habit of only reading series because I love to get immersed in the lives of well written characters. I knew going in that this was only a one part story, but because it's pretty recent, I'm hoping there may be a second. The end ties up well enough to allow this book to stand on its own, but it is still open enough to continue, which I hope it does!I think I would have liked a first person narrative better. The third person was so well written, but it's just a personal preference.

I really wanted to give it a 5 star. But I feel like without having anything to compare it to, this would not be a fair assessment. Although, I may have to come back and change it if, after reading some other books like this, it turns out this is far above the others. My next pick is the Fallen Series by Lauren Kate!